Women in ancient Rome

Women in ancient Rome

In ancient Rome, freeborn women were citizens, but they could not vote or hold political office. Roman historians often wrote more about men than women because women had limited roles in public life. However, women from wealthy or powerful families could still have influence through private talks and negotiations.

Some women became very famous and important in history. For example, Lucretia and Claudia Quinta were remembered in myths, while Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, and Fulvia even led armies and had their pictures on coins. In the time of the emperors, women like Livia and Agrippina the Younger helped shape the customs of the empire. Later, the empress Helena played a big role in spreading Christianity.

While most women did not have much power in public life, they did have an important job in religion. The Vestals were special priestesses who could not marry for thirty years. They studied and performed important rituals to keep Rome safe.

Childhood and education

In ancient Rome, a child's life depended on their family's social status. Children played many games, and their toys have been found by archaeologists. Girls and boys played similar games, like ball and hoop-rolling. Dolls, usually made from wood, terracotta, bone, or ivory, were popular with girls and were often dedicated to the goddess Diana or Venus when girls reached adulthood.

Girls were expected to protect their modesty and reputation in preparation for marriage. Education for girls was usually limited to basic schooling, though some from wealthy families received more learning. Both boys and girls took part in religious festivals and learned good behavior by watching adults. Elite girls were sometimes well-educated, but for most, learning focused on skills needed for marriage and managing a household.

Women in the family and law

See also: Pater familias

Daughters and sons were both under their father's control. In early Rome, if a father died without a will, daughters had rights similar to sons. Daughters were often valued as much as sons, even though sons were expected to take on family duties.

Roman fathers arranged marriages for their daughters, often when they were very young. Girls could legally marry at age 12, and boys at 14. Many noble girls married even younger for political reasons. Most women married in their late teens or early twenties. A daughter could refuse a marriage if she felt the future husband was not trustworthy.

When a woman married, she did not come under her husband’s control. Instead, she stayed under her father’s authority. This gave Roman women more freedom than women in many other ancient cultures. Even though she had to respect her father’s wishes, she was not closely watched in her daily life. A daughter kept her family name throughout her life, a tradition that continues in some countries today, like Spain or Italy. Children usually took their father’s name, but sometimes they could also use their mother’s name.

Women and sexuality

From the start of the Roman Republic, Roman women were expected to be faithful to their husbands. They were watched to make sure they behaved properly.

During the time of Augustus, the role of women as wives and mothers became even more important. New laws were made to support families, rewarding those who were married and had children. These laws also punished unfaithful wives.

Roman women had some rights. They could own land, write their own wills, and speak in court. Some even spoke in court to defend themselves or others. But women’s roles were still smaller than men’s, and they were often seen mostly as wives and mothers.

Family tomb writings show that a good marriage was one where husband and wife shared interests and property.

In the early Roman Republic, a bride moved from her father’s control to her husband’s. Over time, this changed, and by the time of Julius Caesar, women often stayed under their father’s control even after marrying. This gave women more freedom than in many other ancient cultures.

Marriage ceremonies were not always needed, but they showed that a couple had chosen to live together. Different types of marriages existed. Divorce was possible and became more common, especially among the rich.

Remarriage was common among rich Romans. After a spouse died, a woman would wait ten months before marrying again. This helped make sure any baby born during that time had a clear father. Women with property often helped choose their new husbands.

Living together without marriage, called concubinage, was also accepted. This was common when social differences made marriage hard. Children from these relationships took their mother’s social status.

Roman law did not allow a husband to abuse his wife, though laws were not always followed. Good husbands were expected to treat their wives with respect.

Roman women were expected to have children, but many rich women hired wet-nurses to feed their babies instead of breastfeeding them themselves. Breastfeeding was still seen as an ideal. The first Roman emperor, Augustus, made laws to encourage larger families. These laws gave special honors to women who had at least three children.

Roman mothers were important in raising and teaching their children. A well-educated mother was seen as key to helping her children become good citizens. Famous Roman mothers, like Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, and Aurelia, the mother of Julius Caesar, helped shape their sons’ lives and careers.

Daily life

Aristocratic women managed big homes, like running a small business. They looked after guests and made decisions when their husbands were away. For example, Julius Caesar’s wife cared for his assets while he was away, and Ovid’s wife kept their property when he was exiled.

An important job for women was to look after making clothes. Spinning wool was a key home task, showing a family could take care of itself. Women of all classes were expected to spin and weave, and this skill was shown on monuments after they died. Women also took part in business, lending money, helping build public works, and managing land. They could own property and do business deals, though some jobs were seen as better than others. In Pompeii, many women had different jobs, from business to crafts to services.

Slavery

Free women who had once been slaves but gained freedom were called freedwomen. They still had to help their former owners for a while, and those owners had to help them in return. This relationship was very important in ancient Rome.

Like women who were born free, freedwomen had similar rights. However, because slaves did not have fathers, freedwomen could not inherit property unless someone wrote them into their will.

The connection between a freedwoman and her former owner could be tricky. For example, a woman named Petronia Iusta tried to prove she was born free, even though her mother had been a slave. There was a disagreement about whether she owed service to her mother’s former owners, but no clear proof existed.

Some freedwomen held important positions. Caenis, for example, was a freedwoman and worked as a secretary for Emperor Vespasian. Though they lived together faithfully, she was not considered his wife.

See also: Slavery in ancient Rome and Ancient Roman freedmen

!Left image: A young woman sits while a servant fixes her hair with the help of a cupid, who holds up a mirror to offer a reflection, detail of a fresco from the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, c. 50 BC !Right image: A floor mosaic of a woman dancer from the Villa Romana del Casale, 4th century AD

Prostitution

Main article: Prostitution in ancient Rome

Some women in ancient Rome worked as prostitutes to support themselves. Even slave women could sometimes earn money this way. In Roman law, slaves were treated as property, so forcing a slave woman into prostitution was not seen as a crime. Later, laws were changed to help protect some slaves.

Wealthy and powerful women could also be forced into prostitution as a punishment. For example, a law once required women guilty of serious actions to work in brothels, but this law was later removed.